Chapter 43: Danger Comes from Life

The girl’s delicate skin was right before her eyes. Luoyou reached out and touched it.

Soft, tender, and supple—it didn’t feel like ordinary human skin, lacking any muscular firmness.

“Try twisting your upper body a few times from side to side.”

“…Like this?” An Jiu’er spun twice, like she was turning a hula hoop.

“Yes.”

Strangely, her lower body strength was stable, and her upper body movements were coordinated. Supporting daily exercise should be no problem at all.

Luoyou fell into thought.

She looked like a student, and her complexion didn’t suggest she was overindulging herself, so how could she have back pain?

Besides, students usually don’t have extracurricular sports that seriously injure the waist… Oh!

Suddenly, Luoyou thought of one type of exercise that was indeed hard on the waist!

There were many reports online; some young people played harder than most adults, so it wasn’t surprising at all that An Jiu’er had back pain.

[This kid looks pretty honest—could it be… once the glasses come off, she’s actually a Jie Ge?]

Luoyou looked up, her gaze seeking confirmation from An Jiu’er.

An Jiu’er returned a smile that could or couldn’t be considered an answer.

That electric feeling that seemed to spark between them made Luoyou’s waist twitch as well.

Confirmed!

Tsk tsk, what a great girlfriend—to come deliberately to exercise her waist for her partner.

I wonder which lucky bastard she’s with!

Go to hell!

“I have a general understanding now.”

Luoyou released her hand and straightened up.

“Your waist strength is pretty good. Do you usually do any exercise?”

“Kind of.”

“When do you feel muscle soreness?”

“Um… when I get pinched?”

Pinched?

Luoyou was stunned for a moment.

“Ah, sorry!”

An Jiu’er suddenly panicked.

“My wording was a bit off. To be precise, it’s soreness caused by pressure from the sides of the waist to the lower back.”

“…Is there a difference?”

Luoyou felt embarrassed, still not understanding.

Forget it.

She felt if she dug any deeper, she’d find something even more shocking.

Best to stop here.

“I get it. Your waist is resilient, but that has pros and cons. Since the soreness is caused by pressure, you need to build up the muscles around your waist, make it firmer!”

“Coach, what should I do?”

“First, work on the muscles on the sides of your waist.”

Luoyou knew a fairly common exercise called ‘Jiao Ta Juan Fu’—leg-crossing crunches—that could be done at home, so An Jiu’er wouldn’t need to come to the gym so often.

“Watch closely, I’ll demonstrate.”

Luoyou lay down on the yoga mat, her fitted clothes outlining the graceful curves of the girl’s figure.

She clasped her hands behind her head and bent her legs upward.

“You know sit-ups, right? This is similar, but you have to do ‘left elbow to right knee, right elbow to left knee’ like this, moving your arms and legs simultaneously—like this—”

To make sure An Jiu’er saw clearly, Luoyou slowed her movements, showing every detail, so even a fool could learn.

After demonstrating thirty reps, Luoyou hadn’t broken a sweat.

“Got it? Now you try one set for me. I’ll correct your form.”

“Sorry, I got distracted just now! Coach, please do another set!”

An Jiu’er said loudly.

Luoyou’s eyebrows twitched.

Good thing An Jiu’er was a girl—if it were those beasts from San Lou, one punch and they’d all instantly turn into Ying Ying Monsters.

“I’ll do another set. Watch carefully.”

***

“Now got it?”

“Coach, don’t you sweat?”

“Huh? This level of exercise? Why would I sweat?”

Luoyou chuckled.

This amount of exercise was far from her limit.

When fighting magical girls, she could keep going nonstop all night as the aggressor—two sets of leg-crossing crunches were nothing.

“Alright, now you do one set for me…”

“Since coach is so strong, you must have lots of muscles, right?”

An Jiu’er’s eyes sparkled as if wanting to get a peek at Luoyou’s skin beneath her clothes.

“Huh? Um? No, just watch and then do it yourself. Why ask so many irrelevant questions?”

“Please! I really want to know. I’m afraid if I train too hard, I might accidentally become a muscle lady! So I want to use you as a reference!”

An Jiu’er clasped her hands earnestly, her expression sincere.

“Leg-crossing crunches won’t do that to you…”

Luoyou lowered her head—once upon a time, she had strong muscles, well-defined and textured.

Unfortunately, because of an unfilial daughter, those muscles had turned into soft cream cake.

But honestly, isn’t it a bit embarrassing for a fitness coach to have no muscles at all?

No? Maybe it’s a plus for girls?

Most girls actually want to join fitness training, but the thought of turning into a muscle lady scares them off before they even start.

Like An Jiu’er right now.

“Just one quick look.”

Luoyou lifted her shirt, revealing a smooth, soft abdomen with no excess fat but not overly tight either, definitely soft and springy to the touch.

“Can I touch it?”

An Jiu’er asked eagerly.

“…No.”

Luoyou put her shirt down.

“Hurry up and do it like I showed you!”

Jiao Ta Juan Fu wasn’t a difficult exercise.

Although An Jiu’er’s form was off in a few places at first, with Luoyou’s hands-on corrections, she quickly mastered the technique and did five sets in a row right in front of her.

“Jiu’er, your foundation is better than I expected. Most people can barely do two or three sets before they can’t continue.”

“Really?”

An Jiu’er was sweating a lot, breathing heavily.

“Next, I’ll teach you this one. It’s called Fu Zhong Ti Ce Qu—weighted side bends. The movement is simpler than the last one…”

Luoyou didn’t stay with An Jiu’er the entire time.

After teaching some basic moves, she went to assist another newcomer.

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.

Luoyou saw An Jiu’er drenched in sweat and brought her a towel, placing it over her head.

“Tired? Drink some water and replenish yourself. The sun is hot today—don’t get heatstroke.”

“Uh, I didn’t bring a water bottle… Oh! Speaking of fitness, I thought of protein powder drinks! I want to try one!”

“Protein powder drinks, huh? If you don’t want to become a muscle lady, it’s better not to drink that. But a little bit is fine.”

The latter sentence was unnecessary, as An Jiu’er lost all interest in protein drinks after hearing the first part.

Luoyou took out her own water bottle and poured a cup for her.

“If you didn’t bring a bottle, drink mine. This is honey-citrus infused—good for your health.”

“Thank you.”

Luoyou stared blankly as An Jiu’er ignored the cap she handed her, directly grabbing the bottle itself.

Her crimson lips pressed against the mouthpiece, taking small sips.

After drinking almost half the bottle, An Jiu’er pulled away, her tongue flicking over her lips.

“A bit sweet, a bit sour. The taste is kind of weird.”

“…Well, it’s not really made for taste.”

Luoyou awkwardly drank from the cap.

She didn’t mind An Jiu’er’s drinking style, but it was a bit strange—an indirect kiss was also a romantic thing.

Luoyou glanced at the time.

“I’m going to eat lunch. You should hurry too. That’s all for today’s training.”

“Wait! Coach, I don’t know what to eat after working out. Any recommended fitness meals?”

“Fitness meals… You’re not here to build muscle, so you don’t have to avoid anything. Eat what you normally eat.”

“Okay…”

An Jiu’er looked a bit disappointed but was no longer clingy.

She bowed politely.

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Oh wait, coach, I have one more question!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Do you treat other trainees the same way you treat me?”

An Jiu’er asked seriously.

Luoyou nodded firmly.

“Yes, I treat everyone equally. No special favors, no targeting anyone. Rest assured.”

“…Thank you.”

After leaving the gym, An Jiu’er walked slowly along the street.

The further she went, the lighter and quicker her steps became.

When she passed a corner, she suddenly turned sharply and slipped into a deserted alley.

When she came out again, her appearance had changed drastically.

“Hey? This is Xingyue, reporting in.”

“Ah, yes! Master Xing Yue, a squad has found traces of that Long-Class Dimensional Beast that broke through the border customs. They want you to take a look.”

“Anything else?”

“Hmm, Third Seat Xing Yu has an urgent matter and wishes to meet with you.”

“I understand. I will look for her later.”

Xingyue ended the communication and sighed.

“Sigh, even in the interior, there’s no shortage of troubles.”

After returning to the Magic Alliance system after many years, the responsibilities that Manjusaka once carried all fell onto her.

But…

“I never expected to run into her here… Coming to Huahai City was definitely the right choice.”

Xingyue swore it was pure coincidence—just last night, when Luozining and the others took her on a city tour, she saw this gym and arranged to come check it out.

She never imagined she would run straight into that woman.

“From the outside, you’d never guess she used to be like that. She didn’t even recognize me.”

Xingyue chuckled sarcastically.

How ironic—the famous Ellera, in daily life, was just an ordinary fitness coach, teaching properly like a normal person.

“I heard she has a daughter now. Her family… Ah, that’s no good. It’s not right to casually investigate someone’s background.”

“I’ll ask once we get closer.”

The next day.

Luoyou came to work again.

She heard a piece of news that shocked her.

“Ah? The gym was bought out!?”